Historically, there is a concept that pervades every spiritual and esoteric teaching — the enemy within.
The Devil in Tarot. In traditional astrology, it is house 12, the house of self-inflicted harm, or self-undoing.
I find the term “self-undoing” particularly accurate; it synthesizes its essence so well: “what our normal, sane essential nature does, house 12 undoes”.
When house 12 is active it is like driving with the hand brakes on — we move along but something feels stuck and not quite right. It is the “splinter in the mind” that Morpheus in the movie The Matrix alludes to.
The forms of manifestation that this “undoing” process can take are numerous. However, they are, like everything else, based on seven building blocks or energies. Yet, what makes these energies “undo” the best we have is one particular psychic phenomenon, that is: fear.
There are seven types of basic fears around which all distorted traits of personality revolve. Each of us, with rare exceptions, has one main fear that we learned to repeat since childhood and thus have formed a network of psycho-physical habits that brings us an endless stream of unnecessary suffering.
House 12 correlates with the concept of Chief Feature in the Michael Teachings.
Find below examples of how house 12 manifests in people’s lives according to the seven basic patterns as outlined in the Michael Teachings. This knowledge in the hands of a sincere observer and active spiritual worker provides the tools needed for the expansion of consciousness of psychological phenomena and the neutralization of imaginary fears.
The Seven Psychological Chief Features and their Core Fears
GREED
Fear of lack. Fear of loss. Accumulation of goods, knowledge or experiences beyond usefulness. Hoarding. Gluttony. Feeling one never has enough. Dissatisfaction.
SELF-DESTRUCTION
Fear of losing or not having control. Seeks situations of danger, challenges, or great difficulty. Disregard and disdain for life.
Fears loss of relative control and abhors the bitter truth that absolute control can never be achieved. Addictions of all kinds.
ARROGANCE
Fear of being judged and condemned. Seeks situations where judgment is likely. Shyness. Extreme attempt not to make mistakes. Hiding. Fear of being disliked or misunderstood.
SELF-DEPRECATION
Fear of being inadequate. Fear of conflict. Fear of not being able to please. Acquiescing. Saying yes when one should say no. Low self-worth, self-abasement. Inaction.
IMPATIENCE
Fear of missing out on opportunities. Fear of lack of time.
Attempts to cram more activity than is possible or wise within the allotted time. Hurry. Intolerance. Irritation. Anxiety.
MARTYRDOM
Fear of being oppressed. Seeks situations where victimization is likely to occur. Pointless self-sacrifice. Excessive complaint.
feeling oppressed, defeated or victimized. Somebody or the universe is “always agains me”.
STUBBORNNESS
Fear of change. Fear of instability. Hardheadedness, willfulness, rigidity, unwillingness to accept the new, inability to change opinions. Restlessness due to unpredictable people and life situations that elicit change.
We have a chief or main feature and usually have a secondary strong feature too. For example: one may have a chief feature of arrogance and a secondary feature of greed. Any combination is possible.
The astrologer or Tarot reader can use this list to guide the querent or native towards psychological work on those features and promote balance in their mental, emotional and physical functions.
